God Bless Bubble Tea

WHAT THE HECK IS BUBBLE TEA?

Bubble Tea is a beverage originating from Taiwan that has found a heart in many street food corners around the world. A regular bubble tea is iced tea using condenced and sweetened milk with chewy tapioca toppings. You will find that many bubble tea shops will have their own twists to this including fruit teas, milk teas and toppings can include jelly, balls that pop and balls you can chew.

Bubble Tea (aka Boba) has been around since the 1980s and its had a sudden surge in popularity over the years. It’s not hard to see why. The pastel colours and pearls at the bottom is a picture worth a thousand words. It is a visual treat for anybody’s instagram.

IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR YOU?

Tea on it’s own is quite harmless. Bubble tea can be high on fat and sugar, but if you drink it in moderation, it’s fine. There’s also been some concerns about the tapioca being linked to cancer. Fear not! What’s great about a lot of bubble tea chains is the level of customisation there is. Places like Chatime and Happy Lemon are great examples of this. You will be asked if you like it hot or cold, and how much sugar you would like. For the matcha milk teas I get from Chatime, I order it with plenty of ice and no sugar because the red bean toppings are already sweet. I’m also keen on the grass jelly. Then again, I’ve always been told that I have weird taste.

CAN YOU MAKE IT AT HOME?

Absolutely! You can use any tea, milk or sweeteners you have to make bubble tea at home. You can buy tapioca from any oriential shop. A lot of them have their own instructions, but the ones I use, you just need to boil them until they float in the water and leave them to cool in syrup. Bubble tea making kits are also available. There’s a plethora on Etsy.

BEST PLACES I HAVE HAD BUBBLE TEA

Many years ago, the only place where you could get a bubble tea outside of Asia was Chinatowns and the big cities. Now, they’re popping up everywhere.

On my Japanese cruise, we stopped off as Sakata. One of the pop-up shops outside the port was selling bubble tea with goats milk. It was one of the best bubble teas I’ve ever had because of the freshness. I don’t normally like goat’s milk, but the fresh ingrediants and aroma made it work.

I’m greatful for an old gaming group in Oxford for introducing me to Chatime. This is where I tried bubble tea for the first time and even when I’m in Oxford, I always like ordering from there. Sometimes I would order four or five drinks at a time. I think chatime is great because it gives you so much choice. They also had some special edition drinks sponsered by Sanrio (creators of Hello Kitty). I also went to Chatime in many locations around the world, including the Phillipines.

Another chain I like going to is Happy Lemon. They do nice cheesecake there. I was sad that Choboba in Camden Market is no longer open, but they have a shop in Wembley.

MY FAVOURITE BUBBLE TEAS

1) Chatime’s matcha milk tea with red beans.

2) Choboba’s Taro milk tea with tapioca

3) Thai Milk Tea

4) Honeydew lemon milk tea